New Hanover’s Denton runs his way to Mideastern Conference Player of the Year

After placing second in the state in the boys 800 meter run this spring at the 4A state championships in Greensboro, senior standout Jackson Denton was selected as Mideastern Conference Player of the Year following a vote by the league’s seven coaches.

New Hanover sent three hurdlers to this year’s state meet. Photo courtesy John Crouch.

Denton, who’s headed to University of North Carolina next fall to continue his athletic career, also teamed up with Henry Kunz, Will Parker and Shaffer Lisle for a sixth-place finish at the state meet and garnered first-team all-conference accolades in the 4X800 relay event.

Other notable first-team honors included Ben Schmidt in the 3,200 meter run. Schmidt is headed to Queens University in Charlotte to run and recently received a $1,000 scholarship as a result of his success thanks to the Wilmington Road Runners Club. Schmidt placed 10th in the 3,200 at state’s and also competed in the 4X800 relay.

Tyreek Carr, a two-event athlete in the 110 and 300 hurdles for New Hanover, qualified for the state meet, along with Mykol Branch (Laney), Russell Corbett (Ashley) and Tyree Gathright (Ashley).

Branch placed sixth in the high jump. Corbett took third in the shot put and Gathright, who set the school record in the high jump, finished eighth.

New Hanover and Ashley had athletes take first-team honors in 12 events, followed by two for Laney, Allen Frye of South Brunswick in the 200 meter and West Brunswick’s Xavier Gause in long jump.